bangaii questions ...

i am the proud papa of a couple of baby bangaii cardinals

they are currently in my 'fuge and doing well as of last nights birth ( it seems like it would be pretty traumatic to be spat out! ) <grin> ... and i have a couple of questions.
will they eat frozen baby brine or do i need to hatch live brine?
if i need to hatch live brine, can i use one of the 'hatcheries' that you can buy at petsmart?

edit: or ... could i go collect some live brine from the GSL?

thanks

Edited by coreyk

there are a couple of 'hints' ... i'll dig up the links and post them when i get home tonight. if i remember correctly the male has a bit more of a square jaw and there is a difference in the height of the main fin on their back.

Congrats Coryk. The refugium is a great place for them to grow because much of their food occurs naturally there. A friend of mine did nothing extra and the babies grew naturally. Smashed frozen brine shrimp is small enough for them to eat. But they won't eat it if they are getting enough in the refugium. They are naturally nocturnal feeders BTW.
Brad's article about his Breeding Bangaii is right here on the website in the Sea Star Online, Feb. 2002 issue.
There is no sure way to distinguish sexes in these fish, until the male has a mouthful of eggs. Mine were almost the opposite of everything everyone said to use as distinguishing characteristics!
Here's the list of topics in each Sea Star Online issue:

June 2000      Sea Base, Mitzi the Puffer, Lessons of Xenia

October 2000      Deep Sea Anglerfish, Peppermint Shrimp, Aragonite Substrate

January 2001      Marine Algae Control

March 2001      WMAS History, The Great Crab Scare, The Nitrogen Cycle, Bacteria

April 2001      Calcium Reactors, Bacteria

June 2001      Coral Propagation Results, Plenums and Bob Goemans, Herbivores vs. Carnivores (Algae control and fish defined), Observations (Coral asexual reproduction observed)

September 2001     Coral Propagation Update, Julian Sprung Visit, Calcium & Alkalinity, 10 Keys to Keeping a Successful Reef

January 2002      The Living Planet’s new Marine and Freshwater Institute at SLCC, Electricity – the GFCI safety feature, The Basics of Plenums

February 2002    Breeding Banggaii Cardinals, Coral Farming, Olympic Eco-Travel, Saving a Reef (Algae control), Olympic Visit, RDP pH Control and Filtration (Reverse Daylight Photosynthesis)


Edited by Mark Peterson

You might try Cyclop-eeze. It is a very tiny copepod. It comes in frozen or freeze dried form. Aquatica and Mountain Shadow Marine both cary the frozen kind.

Cory-
I have a small tank with great lighting you can use.

wanted to give a little update... i only had 2 of the little guys make it ... next time i'll be a little better prepared! here is a pic of the two that DID make it though. thanks for the help!

pretty darn cute, eh? i think i must have taken 40 shots to get that one!  lucky for me they were both very curious about what i was looking at!

oh ya... and they seem to be resopnding very well to cyclop-eeze and frozen baby brine.